Slips, Trips and Falls at Work: Reducing Your Risk

Why Slips, Trips and Falls Deserve Serious Attention

It is easy to dismiss a slip or a trip as a minor nuisance, something that happens and is quickly forgotten. In reality, slips, trips and falls on the same level are consistently among the leading causes of non-fatal workplace injuries across all industries in the UK. They result in broken bones, head injuries, soft tissue damage and, in some cases, life-changing harm. They also cost businesses significant sums in lost productivity, sick pay, increased insurance premiums and potential legal liability.

If you manage a workplace, whether it is an office, a warehouse, a care setting, a food production facility or a construction site, you have a legal duty to manage this risk. Understanding that duty, and what good practice looks like in practical terms, is the starting point for getting this right.

Your Legal Duties as an Employer

The primary legal framework for managing slips, trips and falls sits within the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, which places a general duty on employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of their employees. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 build on this by requiring employers to carry out suitable and sufficient risk assessments and implement appropriate controls.

More specifically, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 set out requirements directly relevant to floors and traffic routes. Regulation 12 requires that floors and traffic routes are kept in good condition, are not slippery, have no holes or uneven surfaces, and are kept free from obstructions. These are not aspirational standards; they are legal requirements.

For workplaces where people are working at height, the Work at Height Regulations 2005 also apply, though same-level slips and trips remain a separate and equally important concern in their own right.

Common Causes of Slips, Trips and Falls

Before you can control the risk, you need to understand what is actually causing it in your workplace. The causes vary considerably by sector, but the most common include:

• Wet or contaminated floors, from spillages, cleaning operations, leaks or wet weather being tracked indoors
• Poor housekeeping, including trailing cables, boxes left in walkways and cluttered storage areas
• Inadequate lighting, making it difficult to see changes in floor level or obstacles
• Damaged or uneven flooring, including worn tiles, raised edges and potholes in external areas
• Unsuitable footwear for the working environment
• Inadequate matting at entrances or in high-risk areas
• Rushing or distraction, particularly in busy or high-pressure environments
• Changes in floor surface or level that are not clearly marked or highlighted

In many cases, incidents occur not because of a single failure but because several of these factors are present at the same time. A wet floor in a poorly lit corridor where staff are under time pressure is far more hazardous than any one of those factors in isolation.

Carrying Out a Slips and Trips Risk Assessment

A risk assessment for slips, trips and falls does not need to be a lengthy or complicated document, but it does need to be thorough and specific to your workplace. You should walk the site with fresh eyes, ideally at different times of day and in different weather conditions if outdoor or entrance areas are involved.

Look at each area where people work or travel through and consider the floor surface, the likely contaminants, the lighting levels, the volume of foot traffic and the footwear typically worn. Speak to your employees; they will often know exactly where the problem areas are, even if those concerns have never been formally raised.

Your assessment should identify the hazards, assess the likelihood and severity of harm, and set out the control measures you will put in place. It should be reviewed regularly and updated whenever there is a significant change in the workplace.

Practical Control Measures

Good control measures for slips, trips and falls are generally straightforward and affordable. The key is to address the root cause rather than simply putting up a warning sign and hoping for the best.

Floor Surfaces and Maintenance

Choose floor surfaces appropriate to the environment. In areas where contamination is likely, such as kitchens, workshops or entrance lobbies, surfaces with adequate slip resistance are essential. Carry out regular inspections of flooring and repair damage promptly. Keep a simple maintenance log so that defects are recorded, acted upon and signed off.

Housekeeping and Cleaning

Good housekeeping is one of the most cost-effective controls available. Establish clear expectations about keeping walkways clear, returning equipment to storage and reporting spillages immediately. Where cleaning creates a wet surface, use appropriate signage and, where possible, clean in sections so that a dry route is always available. Consider the timing of cleaning operations to minimise the risk to others.

Lighting

Ensure that all work areas, corridors, stairwells and external routes are adequately lit. Address any areas where lighting has failed or where shadows make it difficult to see floor-level hazards. This is particularly important in older buildings where the lighting layout may not reflect current usage patterns.

Matting and Drainage

Entrance matting is a simple and effective way to manage the water and dirt tracked in from outside, but only if the matting is the right type, the right size and properly maintained. Matting that is too small, worn out or poorly fitted can itself become a trip hazard. In wet-process areas, consider drainage channels and appropriate drainage gradients.

Footwear

Where the risk assessment identifies footwear as a significant factor, consider whether a footwear policy or the provision of suitable safety footwear is appropriate. This is particularly relevant in catering, manufacturing and construction environments.

Training and Awareness

Your employees need to understand the risks and their own responsibilities. Induction training should cover slips and trips as a basic workplace hazard, and refresher awareness should be built into your ongoing safety communications. Creating a culture where staff feel comfortable reporting hazards without delay is just as important as any physical control measure.

Monitoring and Reviewing Your Approach

Even well-designed control measures can fail over time if they are not monitored. Near-miss reporting is a valuable tool here; if someone nearly slipped but did not, that is important information. Encourage staff to report near misses without fear of blame, and treat each one as an opportunity to prevent a future injury.

Regular workplace inspections should include a specific check on floors, walkways and housekeeping standards. If an incident does occur, a proper investigation will help you understand what went wrong and what needs to change. Reactive action after an injury is always better than no action, but proactive monitoring is far preferable.

How Integral Safety Can Help

Managing slips, trips and falls effectively requires a consistent and structured approach to risk assessment, inspection and employee awareness. At Integral Safety, we support businesses across Leicestershire and the East Midlands with practical health and safety consultancy and workplace auditing and inspections that identify real risks and help you put the right controls in place. If you would like to discuss how we can help your business, please contact us to arrange an initial conversation.